The Stranger in the Lifeboat: The uplifting new novel from the bestselling author of Tuesdays with Morrie

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Alice showed Benji a slice of heaven above and he saw his mother and wife were there and safe. It gave him comfort and stopped him being distraught Mitch Albom has made a literary career out of discussing and examining the concept of "faith." We read his books, we discuss them in book clubs, some make movies out of them, and some deride them because they would rather follow science or logic and leave emotion or hope - or whatever it is that drives humans to cling to a deity - out of the equation for the grand scheme of things. A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism.

After a deadly ship explosion, nine people are stranded in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. With limited water, food and emergency supplies, the strangers become desperate for help, but there appears to be no land in sight. When three days pass, the travelers come across a lone man in the ocean, and pull him into their lifeboat as well, saving him from the waves. During introductions the man says “I am the Lord” and promises that all passengers will be rescued when they “believe He is who He says He is”.

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When someone passes, Benjamin, people always ask, ‘Why did God take them?’ A better question would be ‘Why did God give them to us?’ What did we do to deserve their love, their joy, the sweet moments we shared? Didn’t you have such moments with Annabelle?” “Every day,” I rasped. “Those moments are a gift. But their end is not a punishment. I am never cruel, Benjamin. I know you before you are born. I know you after you die. My plans for you are not defined by this world. “Beginnings and endings are earthly ideas. I go on. And because I go on, you go on with me. Feeling loss is part of why you are on Earth. Through it, you appreciate the brief gift of human existence, and you learn to cherish the world I created for you. But the human form is not permanent. It was never meant to be. That gift belongs to the soul. “I know the tears you shed, Benjamin. When people leave this Earth, their loved ones always weep.” She smiled. “But I promise you, those who leave do not.” LeFleur, after finished reading the notebook, embracing his wife, and sleeping deeply, “felt peace.” What happened? What was the nature of what he was feeling? I liked this unique way of patterning the story. Some readers might not enjoy the constant shifts in time and perspectives but I am an avid reader of historical fiction, so I am used to this kind of narrative style and even fond of it. But that’s about all I enjoyed in this book: the story structure. My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK, Sphere, and NetGalley for the ARC of “The Stranger in the Lifeboat”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Mitch Albom books are always thought provoking. The story follows the journey of nine people on the rafts battle for survival and the attempts of those on land to uncover what had happened at sea. This is a short novel that's intriguing with so much depth. The book is arranged into three parallel storylines: 1) from one of the survivors. 2) the inspector investigating what happened 3) from the media reporting about the yacht. This is another fantastic read by the fabulous Mitch Albom who's books never disappoint.

Mystical Mitch: Fans of Mitch Albom know and are well prepared for “mystical Mitch.” I love him for bravely exploring how the soul and eternity and spiritual ideas intersect with our physical world. If you are looking for a theological answer to the “what if…” question Mitch poses, I think you need to look elsewhere. I don’t think it’s fair to expect a theologically based story when that wasn’t his intent (in my opinion). Jean Philippe- Haitian cook working on yacht (obviously due to the authors love of Haiti he included a Haitian character, and he had input on the book from real Haitian teens). Benji is the only person on the raft who learns that kind of belief for himself throughout the course of their survival mission. He also heals from past tragedy and learns to forgive. I don't consider myself a religious person at all. I do have a lot of faith and belief in a higher power though. Sometimes life is just hard so occasionally a feel-good story with an inspiring message is just what I need.

While this story has all the elements of a “whodunnit,” the real question surfaces when they pull a 10th survivor into the lifeboat --- one claiming to be God himself. But is this bizarre, unkempt man who he claims to be? Is he, in fact, God? The question carries weight, as the man tells his fellow passengers that he will only save them once everyone aboard believes that he is who he says he is. In short, Mitch Albom is a wonderful human being. Read his earlier works to support him. Donate to his charities. But you can safely stay away from this book. I can’t advocate this one to anyone except maybe to readers with a highly philosophical bent of mind. What might Alice mean when she explains to Benji that “feeling loss is part of why you are on Earth”? What harm is done to the body, mind, and heart when we lose something valuable? What is the potential value of losing things or people we love? What are healthy ways to respond to great loss? What if God was one of us? If not as old as time, it’s a question at least as old as Joan Osborne. In Mitch Albom’s latest thought-provoking novel, THE STRANGER IN THE LIFEBOAT, God is one of us. He is a fellow passenger aboard a small lifeboat.

Nine people have been adrift for three days in a lifeboat without food or water. The luxury yacht they had been on had exploded, and now they have lost all sense of hope. When they spot another man floating in the water, they pull him in. He says he is the Lord. But is he? What would we do if, after crying out for help, God appeared before us? What might the Lord look like, and how would he act? Bernadette, from Haiti, and Benji, from Ireland, discover that they both left because it was a “hard life there.” What about their experience of difficulty might be similar, even universal? In what ways would their sufferings have been different? My first exposure to this author was Five People You Meet in Heaven. This story deeply touched and moved my heart for a variety of reasons. Albom’s latest inspirational melodrama is called “The Stranger in the Lifeboat.” It’s a survivor story about 10 people trapped on a raft with a young man who announces, “I am the Lord.” Why has Benji “struggled with faith much of [his] life”? What are other challenges of genuine faith? What are the potential risks of such belief?But there are also two passengers pulled aboard whom no one recognizes: a girl who doesn’t speak and a strangely uninjured young man whose first words are “I am the Lord.”